The Moondrop Chu is the Chinese manufacturer’s newest entry-level IEM. Moondrop has quickly established itself as a force in the world of IEMs thanks to its affordable yet high-performing products.

The Moondrop Chu is the successor to the Moondrop Spaceship, which we previously reviewed and found to be quite impressive, at least in terms of sound quality.

The Chu is also $20, which is nothing in the current IEM landscape, where products can cost up to 100 times that amount.

Moondrop, on the other hand, has a reputation to uphold, so even if you pay the lowest possible price, you can expect good results.

Packaging

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Despite the $20 price tag, the Moondrop Chu comes in decent packaging. Three pairs of Moondrop’s premium Spring Tips are included with the earbuds. These tips are worth $13 on their own, so it’s surprising that they’re included in the box.

You also get a pair of ear hooks in addition to the tips. Since the Chu cable lacks built-in ear hooks, you’ll have to manually attach them if you want to use it. A small velcro strap is included to secure the earbuds.

Finally, a rather useless pouch is included. This thing is only wide enough to hold a single credit card and can’t fit the earbuds comfortably.

As previously stated, the cable is permanently attached to the earbuds, so unlike most other IEMs, there is no cable included in the box.

Design

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The Moondrop Chu is designed in a very simple and minimalistic manner. The earbuds are small and completely fit inside your ears. A simple gold pattern on a black body can be found on the back. It’s the only color choice you have.

The earbuds are entirely made of metal, giving them a sturdy but lightweight feel. For everyday use, these aren’t that much more durable than plastic buds, but they do feel a lot nicer.

Moondrop’s Spring Tips are included with the Chu. These are silica gel tips with a unique waveguide structure that were custom-designed. This design and material, according to Moondrop, make the Spring Tips more dependable, comfortable, and provide a better seal. They also claim to reduce high-frequency resonance, resulting in a more consistent treble roll-off.

However, you might find them difficult to insert and easier to pop out, and the tacky texture wasn’t particularly appealing. You might not notice any difference in audio quality when using them versus regular ear tips as well.

There are no kinks in the cable to keep it in place. Moondrop includes ear hooks that must be manually attached, but they aren’t as comfortable to wear. Without the hooks, the cable struggles to stay in place around your ears and needs to be adjusted frequently.

The overall comfort of the Moondrop Chu is pretty good once you get past the cable.

Audio quality

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For the price, the Moondrop Chu has excellent audio quality. Overall, the tonality is fairly neutral, with a slight treble bias.

The bass performance is outstanding. For the most part, the frequency response follows the reference line closely, with no bloat in the mid and upper bass.

While there are some areas where it falls short of more expensive IEMs, they still sound fantastic for the money. Despite the low price, the sound is tailored to an experienced or aspiring audiophile.

The verdict

The Chu is yet another huge win for Moondrop, with a price tag of only $20.

It’s a great way to dip your toes into the world of audiophile IEMs for someone already into this hobby who wants a cheap pair without sacrificing sound.